[PrimeMover]

I know the four-post lift is probably the best choice for working on and stacking rigs, if one has the room, BUT... Due to the limited space available in my shop and it's ten-foot ceiling height, after doing some research, I decided to go with one of those 48" mid-rise portable scissor jobs and I finally took delivery of one just before Christmas. It was on sale for $1417 and the vendor offered free shipping out of Souther California for free.

Man! did I have trouble with getting it set up and serviceable!

They failed to pack the power pak mounting hardware and the 90 degree JIC fitting that connects the hose to the power pack but, no sweat... I just happened to have one in stock and six quarts of fluid later, it was ready to rock on it's first dry-run up. I ran it all the way to the top of it's travel with no weight on it and voila! it stayed there until I pulled the top cylinder pins out and literally beat the tightly packed cylinders back into their bores with a block of wood and a BIG whammer. Once the cylinders were forced back in an inch or two, they were alright but were froze BIG TIME in the full-up position because the packing was so tight.
If it's any consolation the damn thing works great now and I think I'll be happy with it, but I find it real hard to recommend a Bend Pak lift to anyone who just wants to bolt one together and go. It appears Bend Pak's QC department is non-existent.

With all that said, I'm still real curious.. Who builds the best mid rise lift...
NORCO
Eagle
Mohawk
Rotary
BEND PAK??? Thanks..

[Kevin45]

I can't think of the name right now but what about the one that you drive on, raise the back with a floor jack, then the back ramps drop down and lock in as legs. Slightly over $900 the last I seen. I'll have to dig out some 'zines and see what the name is. If I remember they raise the vehicle like 28".

Kevin

[PrimeMover]

Kevin - once you find out who makes the 28" lift, Id be interested in having a look at it. A friend of mine has an 8' ceiling and something like that would work well for getting his 57 hardtop up for service etc..

FYI, I had another problem withe my 48" Bend Pak today.. The front swing arms that locate the frame pads, hit my lift cylinders and put a few nice niks in them before I caught the problem and coped another 1/4" of of them. I thing I've got all the bugs worked out now except for maybe a quick- disconnect in the line at the pump.

[Beenaway2long]

Prime-
Keep us up to date on that thing. I'm kicking around the idea of adding a unit like yours. I have the 4 post, and its great, EXCEPT when you have to do a wheels off service. I'm looking to score one cheap, so it may be a while.... I think between the two, I should have all the bases covered. Now, if I could find one that will fit between the rails of the 4 post....

[PrimeMover]

Originally posted by Beenaway2long
[B]Prime-
Keep us up to date on that thing. I'm kicking around the idea of adding a unit like yours. B]

Beenaway - will do... I really think this one is the best deal out there right now, even with all the problems I've had with it. The frame is real stout, the welds are all good and the hydraulic system is adequate. There are a few Ebay dealers that offer these mid-rise jobs a little cheaper but the $500 shipping charge is their dirty little secret. Here's the link for where I got mine, if anybody's interested.

http://www.asedeals.com/mid_rise_lift.html

[alittle1]

If your talking about a drive on lift, give my gallery a click and have a look at the one that I built. The manufatured name it is taken from is called KWIK LIFT and they have a web site. If your thinking of building one, I can send you a few pics and description.

[Kevin45]

Hey Prime...the one alittle1 shows is what I was talking about. Thanks alittle1.

[PrimeMover]

alittle1 and Kevin - I went to the KWIK LIFT site... http://seriousviewers.com/Ramps/ramps.htm

I've never seen those before and I've looked pretty hard. They look real easy to use. Most of the shop work I do, brakes,suspension, general maintenence and inspection etc., requires a wheels off application but even with my new lift, I will need some sort of light weight drive-on ramp to get the ground clearance needed to get some of the slammed cars centered on my lift. Right now, I'm using 12' two by fours to get my 53 chevy up high enough to drive it on to the lift. Once it's up, I just yank the boards till I'm done with the job.

Thanks for the input alittle1, I will be building some ramps similar to those in your link, once I get situated a little better.